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Sketch of the Week: Carousel

Spring River Zoo is known for its live animals, but it's also got a menagerie of the wooden kind: a carousel. Though I've seen it every time I've been to the zoo, I'd never really looked until a few months ago, before it was closed for the winter. Given how much I loved the Dentzel carousel at Shelburne, I'm glad I waited, because enough time has passed that I can look at this piece on its own terms.

It was closing time when I drew this, so I had to work quickly. Unlike the Dentzel piece, which is intact and retains its original paint, this is a carousel that's been ridden hard, and all the figures have multiple layers of paint. That doesn't make it any less cherished though. The Dentzel piece is beautiful, but it no longer functions as a carousel; for decades it's been a sculpture rather than kinetic amusement. This carousel, by contrast, continues to ride on.

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